Help with Morning Headaches

Question

I am a 66 year old male who has for over 6 months gone to bed and immediately to sleep at around 10-11 PM, and then wake up "every" morning around 4-6 AM, then within 2-3 minutes, start feeling pain behind one or both eyes and an uncomfortable "pressure " feeling in my neck. Please note, that the headache starts a few minutes after I awaken! If I get up, the discomfort goes away in about 5-10 minutes. If I continue to try to sleep, which I must do after the third or fourth day because of the lack of sleep, the pain becomes a severe headache behind my eyes and in the forehead that will hurt badly all day, even with over the counter medications. When I first wake up, one of my sinuses will be plugged depending on which side I am laying. The sinuses also feel a little "raw" but with no drainage. I have a minor deviated septum that restricts breathing all the time. I do not snore. When I wake up, my breathing and heartbeat are very low as if I have been in a sound sleep. Also, when I wake up, my bloodpressure is normal. I do take blood pressure medicine for mild high blood pressure. I have recently been diagnoised with food allergies that cause immediate headaches (chocolate, corn, nuts, etc). I am completely off of caffiene because of associated withdrawal headaches. These symptons occur every day even when I am traveling and sleeping in a different environment. I have had several visits with an ENT doctor to try and resolve the newly acquired food allergies but suspect that my morning headaches are not related? Does anyone have a similar morning headache problem? Any suggestings are appreciated. Tom

TAP22 · Answer

Thanks, I will try the "steam" and look more closely at the sinuses.
Tom

KMathurMD · Answer

Hi
Thanks for writing to the forum! 


I read through your post. Based on the information provided by you, I think you could suffering from headache due to sinusitis. When you get up, due to force of gravity the sinus drain. Take steam before going to bed. In case you wake up and still want to go back to sleep, then get up for some time, move around and go back to sleep.

You could also be suffering from ‘benign intracranial hypertension’ (BIH). This happens due to impaired CSF absorption. A generalized throbbing headache worst felt in the morning and last thing at night. This headache is generally relieved on standing (consistent with raised intracranial pressure). It is aggravated by straining, coughing or a change in position. A spinal tap is a must both to diagnose the condition and to treat it. 

Hope this helps. Please let me know if there is any thing else and do keep me posted. Take care!